Mrs Femi Bola, MBE

Femi Bola is a Principal Fellow of the HEA, executive coach and mentor and currently Director of Employability at the University of East London (UEL) with experience covering student and graduate employability, employer engagement, leadership and the inclusive curriculum. Since joining UEL Femi has introduced proactive and innovative approaches to student employability, career development and enterprise. Femi has been instrumental in the development of a range of nationally recognised employability schemes including a scheme to assist underachieving young people in Tower Hamlets secure employment, sponsored by Deloitte which was awarded a Greater London National Training Award, Lord Mayor's Award and Business in the Community Education & Lifelong Learning Award (2004). Femi also developed and help set up a Public Relations (PR) internship programme for Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) graduates, in partnership with Taylor Bennett Executive Search, to help address BAME under representation in the PR industry which won a Dragon Award (2010) was a Times Higher Education Award finalist (2011) and won a Business in the Community Race for Opportunity Award (2012). Femi was the first non academic member of staff at UEL to be awarded both a UEL Teaching Fellowship and Higher Education Academy National Teaching Fellowship in recognition of her innovative practice and support of teaching and learning. In the summer of 2012 Femi was awarded Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to diversity.